Header photo by Marvinlouis Dorsey / Topic suggested by Mani Suri
The Still Night
I wake mid-dream
the night still
as a dead cat I passed
a mass of white fur
sprawled on the sidewalk
weighed down
by the cessation
of all internal organs
the stillness
that will someday
seize us all
Would I choose
its utter darkness
over the eternal wheel
of reincarnation?
Night
There’s a sinister stillness to the night
The air hangs heavy, clings like a sticky film
Even its cool makes you sweat
What is visible of the sky is black as coal
Thick gray clouds create eerie light
Cathedral spires of cypress trees
are dark silhouettes against the clouds
poised like rockets ready to launch
Motionless they stand tense
with not even the tiniest sway
Mother nature has inhaled
all breathable air, holds it deep
in her chest reluctant to exhale
With a flash of light and a distant
low growl of thunder
her old friend Zeus reminds her
he is willing to serve
But she is not angry tonight, only sad,
and her tears begin to fall gently,
steadily through the night and
into morning until her well runs dry
Apollo, proud son of Zeus,
always at the ready in his chariot of gold
brings the sun
We once waltzed, you and I,
with violin music filling the room.
Your arms held me close
as we laughed round and round,
and our love gave the dawn
a new light.
Yet the day came too soon
when the stringed-music ceased.
Cool glances began.
Pale smiles. Stale touch.
No longer we held
dancers frame.
How I yearn for the strains
of those old violins
and the nights of our
waltzing as one.
This deafening silence
rips through to my core,
as you’re stealing my spirit,
stealing my soul,
by your thoughtless
indifference.
The night is late,
Touch me.
The sun slid behind the moon,
Waiting for you to
Touch me.
The stars boldly shine
Granting light
So you can
Touch me.
Touch my smoothness,
My cheek, my lips, my throat,
My softness.
Touch my longing,
My aching,
My wanting you.
Fill the void
Inside me
With your firm touch.
Touch me to keep me safe
From falling off the cliff
Into the dark abyss
Into empty
Into alone.
It’s late—
But it’s never too late
For you to
Touch me.
Still Night
as the moon changes faces
and the stars fizzle without life
so does our love
change from day to night
Dream a little reality
your body still
breath faltered an hour ago
head tilted
eyes closed
heart stopped
and mine filled with palpitations
the haze filling the room
blocking the light
as if a theatre curtain closes
and another opens
your body on the sofa
you turn and a cracker fills your mouth
eyes brights
another day bent on proving death wrong
until you no longer can stop it
fear makes you run…
fear makes you run
all four paws hit the cold soil
stopping for a breath
a drink of water
a view of what was left behind
the animal no longer calling
the moon disappearing
and the night blanketing your bare skin
Dead Still
I'm a small gray rock
lying on the dirt
beside a twisted tree
on the edge of a library
parking lot.
I've been here seven years now.
Little excitement.
Occasional pelting of rain.
Weekly gardener with a blower.
Lots of car exhaust.
I hear footsteps every day.
The babbling of humans
calms me. Reminds me
everything is temporary.
I lie and wait for change.
NIGHT (a found poem)
"One word: transports."
"Where will they take us?"
"There are rumors
we are going to Hungary."
"Things must be getting serious,
it's almost midnight
and no one is going to sleep."
"The ghetto is to be liquidated entirely!"
"Don't worry, I'll warn you if there's danger."
"To sleep, to dream, that nothing had happened."
"All this under a magnificent blue sky."
Childhood Day and Nightmares
The knocked against hallway wall gray tooth
The pushing Tonka sliding glass door bloody elbow
The bamboo, belt, and coat hanger discipline
The overalled step-grandpa eat-all-your-food barks
The bench back seat Frankenstein drive-in movie
The green bicycle into white pickup corner accident
The being the third wheel amongst buddies
The Doberman Pincher bites sister across street
The chewed and swallowed trash can Excedrin and
The resulting sidewalk vomited strawberry Pop-Tarts
The neighbor kid pouring cherry Kool-Aid pitcher over head
The junior high jaywalking friend hit by old lady car passing school
The tenth-grade math failure meltdown
The surf-induced dislocated knee scream
Naughty Night
In the dark bedroom
we were playing
Cathy and Heathcliff
beside an open window
to let in cool night air
Heard a boom in the sky
interrupt our commingling
so I stood up to look out
to see if some explosive
fire might be seen distantly
All I could make out was
a glimmer of a stone owl
hanging from a large branch
to scare away all birds
from green growing oranges
I reached for my cell phone
to try to capture the scene
but illumination by screen
caused me to turn around
to my love’s silhouette…
